I held out for the Pixel 7a for a very, very long time, entranced by the idea of a "budget" Pixel that used the same chip as its Pixel 7 friends. The Pixel leaks that circulated the Internet since at least July of the year before, 2022, left almost nothing to the imagination w/r/t the 7a's specs. I owned a Pixel 4a for at least 3 years before this and I was ready to sacrifice myself on the 7a altar.

But... the I/O reveal came and went and the pricing of the 7a was underwhelming: $500 upfront or $20.79/mo for 2 years then $250 back after those 24 months. $250 off after 2 years was... a comical deal in this high interest-rate environment for a neutered phone. At the same time the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 was available for $600 or $25/mo for 2 years. You know which path I took.

This is a pleasant phone to use. Physically shutting the phone provides haptic feedback that feels as if I am cutting myself off from the Internet of notifications and its persistent noise to focus on something else more real / immediate. If it rings I can check the notifications from the small, secondary screen mounted on the cover and swipe them away if not relevant.

This is the 3rd generation of this type of foldable from Samsung. I respect the pure drive from whoever is pushing this phone so hard that it has reached 3 generations despite such little adoption. I don't know anyone who owns any generation of Flip. To bring something to market that nobody (right now) wants is... such an enlightened perspective that few executives allow it to happen.

My fiancé remarked that it's unlike me to buy "gimmicky" things. But it fits into the pockets of my women's shorts that his 7 Pro can not and that's not much of a gimmick at all.